Paint Question

I am going to hire a painter to paint the outside of my house. The house i s stucco. One estimate was from a man who uses Sherwin Williams but the ot her two were from men who uses Behr. One offers pressure washing with mold /mildew remover, a sealer and two coats of Behr Premium Plus. The other pr essure washing with mold/mildew remover, one coat of Behr Marquee. (The Ma rquee is said to include a sealer). It was not on the market when Consumer Reports tested paints last year -- and named Premium Plus the best paint. I am a little reluctant to rely on Marquee -- it costs more and hasn't bee n around long enough to know how well it will hold up. The painter using i t thinks I'm being silly. He and the other painter (Prem.Plus fan) have bo th been in business about 25 years.

Just wondered what you'll thought. This is a big expense so I don't want t o screw up. Thanks.

Reply to
Dottie
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is stucco. One estimate was from a man who uses Sherwin Williams but the other two were from men who uses Behr. One offers pressure washing with mo ld/mildew remover, a sealer and two coats of Behr Premium Plus.

Don;t know about the sealer step, sounds like that may be specific to stucco. I would read the paint can label, go to their website, etc and see what they say needs to be done to use it on stucco.

The other pressure washing with mold/mildew remover, one coat of Behr Marq uee. (The Marquee is said to include a sealer). It was not on the market when Consumer Reports tested paints last year -- and named Premium Plus the best paint. I am a little reluctant to rely on Marquee -- it costs more a nd hasn't been around long enough to know how well it will hold up. The pa inter using it thinks I'm being silly. He and the other painter (Prem.Plus fan) have both been in business about 25 years.

My concern wouldn't be with the Marguee paint, it would be with only applying one coat instead of two. Behr paint has been highly rated, right up there at the very top with Benjamin Moore. I'd rather have two coats of that product, instead of one coat of the product that is their premier Marquee paint. The two products are probably fairly similar, while two coats versus one is a big difference. Price factors in too. How different were the price quotes?

to screw up. Thanks.

Reply to
trader4

I think 2 coats will look better than 1, even if the one has "marquee" in it's name! Do you suppose "great advances' have been made in the paint industry in the last year? I feel more confident that the people putting on 2 coats are concerned about the quality of their work. It takes More Time to apply two coats. It might be funto ask the 2nd painter, "Don't you think it would look better with 2 coats?" : ) Good luck with your work!

Bill

Reply to
Bill

Here's a good website about painting a house:

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.

It's by a guy named John Burbridge and the videos are worth watching.

He also has a paperback book, "Watching Paint Dry", that I bought and have read 2/3 of so far. It's an easy read, and the first part of the book was particularly interesting to me -- it's about how exterior house painting jobs get botched up. He was on a painting crew whose job it was to go back to botched house painting jobs to "fix" them as part of the guarantee from the original painting company. The main problem, in most cases, was improper cleaning, scraping, and preparation of the house before painting it. There is also a website called

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and his main pitch in all of his articles about exterior house painting if good preparation and, in particular, actually physically washing the house with a brush and not just pressure washing the exterior.

(The second half of the Watching Paint Dry book is a little less interesting to me since it is mostly about painting stories and personality issues between painters, and between painters and bosses, on painting job sites.).

I don't know the answer regarding which paint would be best for you to use.

I got estimates one time for painting the exterior of a house that I own (not stucco), and the estimates ranged from $3,500 plus paint to $15,500. So, get a number of estimates.

Reply to
TomR

Sorry about the formatting and extra spacing between the lines in my original reply. I don't know why my posts sometimes show up that way, but it usually is when I include cut-and-paste website links.

Reply to
TomR

I'm sure gladI don't live wherever you do. I had my (stucco) house painted about three years ago. The footprint is about 5400 sq.ft. plus both sides of a 7' x 65' wall plus both sides of a 24" x 70' knee wall. Labor was $1600 for PW and paint one coat. He did two coats in a couple of areas.

Reply to
dadiOH

Has the house been painted before? If so and the paint is well adhered there should be no need for sealing.

You need the power wash to get rid of crud, mildew, loose paint, any chalking. If you wind up with substanrial bare stucco, spot priming is in order.

If they spray paint they also need to back roll it.

IME, one coat is generally satisfactory. Two definitely would be.

Reply to
dadiOH

If it has not been painted before, better to have a stucco company re-colour it. I forget what it is called, but it is NOT paint. Alegro Cement - aka Fog Coating appears to be what I was thinking of. Can't be done over paint (at least not with total reliability)

Reply to
clare

Mine cost $1700, included my detached garage, was two coats, used Sherwin Williams and was done about ten years ago.

OP: If the one coat Marqee painter won't do two coats, then ask him if he'll guarantee the work for x amount of years. Otherwise, I suggest going with one of the other two or get more estimates.

BTW, ask all painters if they have a guarantee/warranty.

Reply to
Meanie

is stucco. One estimate was from a man who uses Sherwin Williams but the other two were from men who uses Behr. One offers pressure washing with mo ld/mildew remover, a sealer and two coats of Behr Premium Plus. The other pressure washing with mold/mildew remover, one coat of Behr Marquee. (The Marquee is said to include a sealer). It was not on the market when Consum er Reports tested paints last year -- and named Premium Plus the best paint . I am a little reluctant to rely on Marquee -- it costs more and hasn't b een around long enough to know how well it will hold up. The painter using it thinks I'm being silly. He and the other painter (Prem.Plus fan) have both been in business about 25 years.

to screw up. Thanks.

I bookmarked those web sites so I can go back and read what the author said about washing the house. The house has been painted before -- it was buil t in 1983 and we bought it in 1991. We painted it after living here about

10 years. The man I will probably hire said he used two coats of paint and that he back rolled the paint where he sprayed it on.
Reply to
Dottie

Is the paint oil-based or Latex?

When me and my buddies painted houses to put ourselves through college we generally recommended Latex...but ONLY because it was easier for us to deal with. Oil-based paint is superior.

Reply to
philo 

On 12/19/2013 1:48 PM, Dottie wrote:

Are you in warm location (Florida, or ?)? Concrete block and stucco? Stucco is already painted? Present condition...peeling, cracked, mildewy?

My experience was in Florida, where almost all recent construction is stucco on concrete block and using semi-gloss acryllic or "latex" paint. Our condo had had a horrible paint job, with no prep, which resulted in heavy mildew growth under the paint coat and much peeling. Pressure washing is a must; our contractor sprayed on a bleach solution prior to pressure washing....that seemed odd to me but it was a contractor with a lot of commercial business, good reputation and the paint job lasted fine 10 years afterward. There were many fine, hairline cracks in the stucco and they used brushable (flexible) caulk prior to painting; that concealed all cracks and the cracks did not reappear. The contractor offered priming and one or two coats of paint in his bid; our condo went for priming and once coat, which looked fine. We got the contractor's name from a paint store, and as part of the paint co. guarantee process, the paint co. sent a rep to inspect the preparation before the painting was done. It was a big learning experience, and I think we really lucked out...I helped the building manager at the time with obtaining bids and managing the upheaval during three weeks of very messy work - eight unit condo. A previous bid was $27,000 for "elastomeric" paint, two coats. The bid we accepted, and I am not likely to go for a lowest bid, was just under $7,000. One hell of a difference, but I had a gut feeling about a minute after meeting the contractor that he was the right one.

Comparing paint only by brand name is relatively useless...check out the websites for a couple of paint companies and look at the products recommended for your conditions, read the tech info for the product.

Reply to
Norminn

That hasn't been true for at least thirty years. Oil-based paint will adhere to wood better because it penetrates the fibers better but latex is more UV resistant. An oil primer with latex top coats gives the best of both worlds.

Reply to
krw

30 yeara ago, perhaps - but particularly on stucco, you WANT latex.
Reply to
clare

Well , we only did one stucco house and we used napp rollers and Latex.

That was 40 years ago

Reply to
philo 

Dottie:

To be perfectly honest, I would be inclined to go with the painter that intends to use SW Duration paint. This paint is widely regarded to be Sherwin William's best exterior latex paint, and Sherwin Williams generally makes good quality paints.

Consumer Reports NEVER EVER said that Behr was the best paint. They gave it a "Best Buy" Rating because it's better quality than you'd expect to get in a paint costing $18 per gallon. That's only because when a hardware store chain decides to start selling their own house brand of paint, they do surveys to find out what their customers needs are, and what their customers feel decent quality paint should cost. The hardware store chain then gets estimates from several different paint manufacturers to supply it with paint costing from $25 to $40 per gallon (for example) at a rate of 5,000 gallons per month (for example). Each paint manufacturer sharpens up his pencil and figures out what he can do, and since the price has already been determined, the volume discount the hardware store chain would normally get ends up going to the consumer in the form of better paint for the price they're paying.

The above is the ONLY reason why house brand paints like Home Depot's Behr brand or Lowe's "American Tradition" paints often score "Best Buy" ratings in Consumer Reports. But, since your average consumer knows next to nothing about paint, they read more into that Best Buy rating than they should, and conclude that it's the best paint available, and that's nonsense.

What I'd do if I were you Dottie is to phone around to several other painting contractors you haven't dealt with yet and just tell them you have to choose between Sherwin Williams Duration paint and Behr Premium Plus or Behr Marquee. Ask them which paint they would choose if they were painting their own house. Discourage them if they start fishing for information, such as where you live and whether you want a free quote from them as well. Just tell them you want to know which paint they'd use on their own house if given the selection you have to choose from.

Reply to
nestork

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Reply to
philo 

Allways two coats paint on the outside

Have a good day

Reply to
Hot-Text

She can ask, but I wouldn't rely too much on a guarantee. If the paint has problems, there's probably a 50-50 chance at best that you'll get a painter to actually honor it. More likely they'll give excuses, that it was the condition of the house, not their fault, etc. And even if you sue them, you probably can't collect against the ones that are gonna do a crappy job anyway because many of them are judgement proof.

And if they do give a guarantee, it better be in writing and read the details before hiring them, not after there is a problem.

Reply to
trader4

That's not true. Apparently Consumer Reports gave Behr paints top ratings based just on performance, not on price. And it wasn't an $18 product ei ther. Either that or the Boston Globe, among other sources, is lying:

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It?s official: Home Depot?s Behr brand tops two of the three major type s of exterior paints and stains. In fact, Consumer Reports? results show that there?s little reason to go anywhere but that store if you want a fi nish that stands the test of time. Flat and satin paints are what most people use on siding. Resistance to cra cking, fading, and mildew after the equivalent of nine years outside helped put Behr's Premium Plus Ultra Flat, $37 per gallon, and Satin, $39, at the top.

Behr interior paint has also been #1 for interior paints:

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"While the Consumer Reports ratings vary depending on the type of paint fin ish, Home Depot's paint, Behr, came out on top in all 3 finish types. The B ehr Premium Plus Ultra was best overall, and has only 50 (claimed) VOC gram s/liter at $31-$34/gallon. That's compared to Benjamin Moore Natura, which also claims to have 50 VOC grams/liter at $50/gallon but came in at #12 for low-luster finishes, #4 in Flat/Matte finishes and #2 in Semigloss finishe s. Additionally, the Behr paint does not need a primer and may even need on ly one coat, meaning it can go even further than the competition.

Here's the Consumer Reports rated top 5 for each finish type:

Low-Luster (Satin & Eggshell)

  1. Behr Premium Plus Ultra (Home Depot), /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  2. Kilz Casual Colors (Walmart), /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  3. Valspar Signature Colors (Lowe's) /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  4. Glidden Premium (Home Depot), /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  5. Behr Premium Plus Enamel (Home Depot), /gallon, 150 VOC grams/liter

Flat & Matte

  1. Behr Premium Plus Ultra, /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  2. Behr Premium Plus Enamel, /gallon, 100 VOC grams/liter
  3. Valspar Signature Colors, /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  4. Benjamin Moore Natura, /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  5. Olympic Premium (Lowe's), /gallon, 0 VOC grams/liter

Semigloss

  1. Behr Premium Plus Ultra, /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  2. Benjamin Moore Natura, /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  3. Valspar Ultra Premium (Lowe's), /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  4. Valspar Signature Colors, /gallon, 50 VOC grams/liter
  5. Benjamin Moore Regal, /gallon, 150 VOC grams/liter

That's only because

Nonsense, per the above.

But, since your average consumer knows

Perhaps you should check your facts first before talking about consumers wh o knows next to nothing.

And finally, if you want to drag Sherwin Williams into it, I find their business practices less desirable than either HD or Benjamin Moore. At the BM store, I can get their paint any day for $35 a gallon. The similar paint at SW is $55. Then every few months SW has a big "sale", 40% off special. That makes their paint about the same price that I can get at BM or HD any time.

I just had that experience with SW with a bonding primer. I bought XIM Peel Bond at a local small paint store for $35. That is widely regarded as the best product for that application. At SW, for their similar product, it was $50, but because they were having one of their super-duper 40% off sales, I got it for $30. But if it didn't happen to be the sale time, SW prices, at least at the store near me, are nuts.

Reply to
trader4

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